Survival of Piñon Canyon Farmers and Ranchers is in the Hands of the President

Rep. Salazar’s Piñon Canyon Amendment protects Southern Colorado Farmers and Ranchers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following is Congressman John Salazar’s statement on the inclusion of language which prohibits the U.S. Army from expanding the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site.  The prohibition was included the 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Military Construction and Veterans Appropriations bill, which will be voted on late this evening.  The bill is expected to pass by a comfortable margin. 

“I am proud to announce that this evening Congress chose to stand up for farmers and ranchers in rural Colorado.  Southeastern Colorado is a vital part of Colorado’s agricultural community with as many as 400,000 head of cattle and hundreds of thousands of productive farmland in the area,” Rep. Salazar said. “The survival of these communities now lies in the hands of the president and I urge him to put politics aside and sign this appropriations bill."

Opened in 1985, the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS) is located 150 miles southeast of Fort Carson, Colorado and is used as a training area for the U.S. Army and National Guard.  Its 235,896 acres, combined with Fort Carson's training areas, comprise maneuver training lands second only to the National Training Center in size.  In 1978 approximately one half of the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site was acquired through the process of condemnation.  If the Army succeeds in this expansion, Fort Carson and Piñon Canyon combined will be larger than the state of Rhode Island.